About Obesity

Obesity: A Disease

Obesity is an excess of total body fat (increase in body fat in proportion to lean body mass), which results from caloric intake that exceeds energy usage.

Obesity is emerging as a health epidemic around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is rapidly spreading across all regions and demographic groups. An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese. That figure represents more than 50% of the American adult population. Of this group, 11 million adults suffer from severe obesity.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s obesity was a social disease. By the mid 1980’s physicians started to realize that obese people face greater health concerns than those who maintain a healthy weight.

1995 Worldwide – 200 million obese adults and 18 million children under the age of five.
2000 Worldwide – 300 million obese adults and a dramatic increase in childhood obesity:
       Age 6-11 years: increase from 4% to 13%
       Age 12-19 years: increase from 5% to 19%

The American Obesity Association reports that obese individuals have a 50-100% increased risk of death as compared to normal weight individuals, accounting for 300,000 to 587,000 deaths each year. This substantial increase in health risks has made obesity the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Followed only by smoking at 300,000 deaths each year.

According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) more than 1000 people die each day in the United States from obesity and obesity related illness.

A measurement used by physicians and researchers to assess health risks of obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is calculated by dividing body weight (lbs.) by height in inches squared (in2) and multiplying that amount by 704.5. The metric calculation for BMI is kg/m2.  For more information, please click here.

Morbid Obesity

A person who generally weighs at least two times their normal weight or approximately 100 pounds more than his or her ideal weight is considered morbidly obese. This roughly translates to a BMI of 40 or more. A BMI of 35-39.9 is considered severely obese. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has determined that individuals with a BMI equal to or greater than 35 are at such significant risk for obesity related diseases that they qualify for surgery. The NIH thus determined that people with a BMI of 35 or greater have such an increased risk of death from being overweight that this risk outweighs the risk of surgery. The NIH reports that severe obesity and morbid obesity considerably reduce life expectancy and are associated with an increased risk of developing conditions or diseases such as:

• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Stroke
• Sleep apnea
• Heart disease
• Vascular disease/Stroke
• Skin infections
• Cancer
• Gallstones
• Urinary incontinence
• GERD
• Arthritis
• Venous ulcers
• Depression
• Joint problems
• Low back pain
• Infertility
• DVT and thromboembolism
• Asthma and other respiratory problems

Related topics

• Treatment Options
• What Causes Morbid Obesity?
• Health Risks and Related Conditions